


The Black Lion

by thatonepersoneveryonehates



Series: The Bonds Between [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Lance (Voltron), Black Loves Zarkon, Blue Paladin Lance (Voltron), Canonical Character Death, F/M, Perspective of the Black Lion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25370230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonepersoneveryonehates/pseuds/thatonepersoneveryonehates
Summary: The Black Lion knew her siblings first. They were the first bonds that pulsed through her very being. She knew Zarkon second, a constant throbbing bond forged between them as they spent Deca-Phoebs together.And it stung so deeply when she lost him to himself. It hurt when their shared quintessence started to seep a corrupted purple instead of black. But she could still feel him, he was still a part of her. He was still her Paladin.It took time, but she learned that sometimes, letting go was the best option. Even when it hurt the most.
Relationships: Black Lion & Blue Lion & Green Lion & Red Lion & Yellow Lion (Voltron), Haggar/Zarkon (Voltron), Voltron Paladins & Voltron Lions
Series: The Bonds Between [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1847500
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	1. Creation

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this entire thing in one day. I've just proofread it, but I wasn't really paying attention, so there are still probably mistakes. 
> 
> This belongs to another series that I am writing in my free time. Since these are so short, and while I'm working on finishing up ETGHS, I thought I would post them.

Black was the first of the lions to be created and the first of the lions to meet her paladin.

She was not the most social of lions, so she could not say she was the first to reach out and start a conversation. The honer belonged to Green and Blue, both of which were determined to share their knowledge and emotions with their respective paladin.

But, just like any of the other lions, her personality and knowledge were shaped by the first bond with a mortal creature. And it was quickly expanded when she sat, listening to the Altean engineers who were repairing her after her first flight with Zarkon.

The flight itself had been an experience. One that ended with a few torn panels, and scratch marks all along her right flank. Zarkon was not worse for wear, which was a relief to her. The Galran Emporer surprisingly hadn't been able to understand the Altean text that popped up when he was directing her through a canyon, and when the blaring alarms had started in his headset, he'd jumped and rammed the lion into one of the many rocky walls.

Black didn't mind. It had taught her of her paladin. Unlike the chatty Altean Engineers who told stories and talked about everything while they worked, he was quiet. He preferred to sit and watch as opposed to interacting. He never sang, he never told stories, he merely observed. At least, until Lance or Trigel dragged him into a festive conversation. Or until Gyrgan bellowed out something in his native language and slapped his team leader on the back with a wide smile.

Zarkon was also very confident. Despite the mishap when the two had first flown, the confidence heavily outweighed his embarrassment. At the time of the flight, the black lion had delved into his confidence and felt certain that together, they could fly.

Time flowed on, and the bond between the two only grew stronger. They shared their confidence and charisma. They drown themselves in the pride they felt for their team. Team Voltron was something they knew they both cared very much about.

Black was proud that her Pride was so strong, so filled with life. They were unbeatable. She knew her sisters and brother had the same strong, unwavering bonds with their own paladins that she had with Zarkon. The pride Zarkon fed to her through the bond was just as satisfying.

However, Zarkon was not perfect. He did not trust easily. He was wary of every stranger he came across. He became protective of his teammates to an almost overwhelming degree. But he trusted his team with his life and would throw down his own to save them.

Black had no concept of time. None of the Lions did really. They had no need to measure time for rest, or feeding, or to count the years that went by. They were always awake and aware. Beings made of pure quintessence placed in a metal body. But they still understood their paladin words when they spoke.

They knew that Deca-Phobes had passed. And their bonds only strengthened, whenever she called, Zarkon easily fell into her song. Black easily understood his intentions when he directed her in battle. They had become one unit, so connected that it would take an immense force to sever the bond between them completely.

And the day happened when the bond the two shared evaporated into thin air. Black had been sitting in the sun with her siblings on Dibazaal where Zarkon and the rest of the team when an incredible sadness and despair fell into her from the open bond.

Black was immediately alert, ready to fly to her Paladins side if he needed her. She pushed at him in panic, asking what was wrong. Zarkon blasted back at her with rage and grief, shoving her presence away from him and snapping the bond between them away. It left a trail of quintessence left connecting them, but they began to fray anyways.

The actions sent her reeling, and she retreated back into herself. She was still feeling Zarkon's emotions filter through the broken bond, but it was muted. There was some sort of blanket clouding over the connection. 

It had only been a short moment since she was sent reeling when the rest of the paladins, each with their head bowed and sadness clouding through their quintessence.

One by one, each of the lions activated and left the planet. Blue, however, stayed. Her paladin, Lance, was sitting quietly on the ground next to his lion, gazing up into the violet-colored sky. Every once and awhile, his pure teal eyes would flicker up to her. She could feel his gaze like it was burning his metal.

"I'm sorry Black," He finally murmured softly into the air, "Zarkon..."

The paladin paused and sighed, wilting into himself. The markings on his face dimmed, and Black felt Blue and Lance melt into reach other for a moment.

"Zarkon got some really bad news. He didn't mean to hurt you, and I'm sure that he will be out to talk to you later. He just needs a moment to process everything and to hurt by himself." He managed to choke out when he returned to himself. 

Worry crept through Black's veins as she uncharacteristically moved her head to face him, something the lions would only do when they were in the presence of their Paladin. She pushed lightly at Lance's quintessence, not quite sure he would hear her since he was Blue's paladin.

Lance blinked and rubbed one of his shoulders as he sighed, "I didn't mean it that way. He's not wounded, just...He's emotionally hurt. You know how he is. I mean, you are his lion. So you must know about Honerva. Zarkon's mate?"

Black was filled with a sudden foreboding at those words. The Galra people only mate once in their life, and if their mate died, they were stuck with strong emotional pain. Pain like that would be the only thing that could cause Zarkon to push her away as he had.

And it would have been made worse since the Altean female had been carrying Zarkon's child. She was due to give birth in a few movements. Zarkon would not only be devastated with the loss of his partner but his child as well.

Something like that could break him. For all his strength and confidence, Zarkon had a soft side to him. Weakness in those who cared for. If those things were taken away, he lost his pillars and it would change what made him, him!

Black focused back in on what Lance was saying as he moved to gentle stroke Blue's paw.

"She's not dead. But, there was some sort of complication with her heath and the baby. She's now very sick. The healers believe she will die within the next few rotations. The child she was carrying..." He trailed off, now leaning against his lion as if the only reason he was not sobbing.

Black turned back to the castle in which her paladin resided, mourning the loss of his child and preparing to lose his mate. It was moments like these that Black wished with all her quintessence that she could shrink down and go to her paladin. She wanted to go to him and let him curl up around her. To let him know that he was never alone.

Lance sighed once again next to her, a deep sigh filled with pain, "I think he might come to talk to you in a while. When he has finally calmed down. I'm sure you can still feel him because a bond like that can never truly be severed unless both parties wish to be separated. Goodbye Black. You're the only one who could help him. I'll leave it to you."

With that, the Blue Paladin pushed off of Blue's leg slightly and walked back a few steps so she could let him in. Lance turned around once more to Black and gave a weak smile, and then he was in his lion. Blue purred sadly over the shared bond as she took flight. She would most likely be taking Lance back to Altea so he could be with his family.

When Blue was finally out of sight, Black let out a mournful roar, shaking the ground beneath her paws. The guards at the entrance of the castle looked over at her in worry. But understanding flashed in their eyes when she collapsed to the ground.

The lion retreated inside of herself where she could still feel her paladin. She reached out to him, nudging at the trails of quintessence connecting them, hoping he would feel it and come to her soon so she could soothe their pain.

Zarkon nudged back still filled with grief and despair. His quintessence snapped softly at hers, no anger in the movement, just a bone-tired weariness.

Black crooned sadly. She let herself hover nearby should Zarkon call out to her and relaxed mournfully. 


	2. Loss

Night had dawned on Dibazaal when Zarkon finally appeared from within the depths of his castle. His furred ears were ruffled and seemed almost glued to his skull. The air around him blurred with dispair. His eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles underneath them.

He smelled of hurt and death. His purple skin, which normally glowed with health and happiness was a pale recollection and looked pasty under the light of the thousands of miniature suns. Dibazaal did not have a moon.

His steps were slow and his gait shadowed that of the normal royal way that he walked.

Zarkon stopped in front of her, weary golden eyes fixed on her as his voice dragged itself from deep within his chest.

"Black..."

The Emporer paused for a moment, shifting from foot to foot in a way that was so un-Zarkon like that it stung Black.

"I...I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I know you were just concerned, but I need to be alone, and the only way I knew how was to break out bond. I should have just asked you to back off. I wasn't in the right mind."

Zarkon sat down in the dirt in front of where she had collapsed, noticing she was in such a position now. But the lion moved her head to gaze at him head-on. Her golden eyes glowed and filled with intelligence that soothed his guilt.

She nudged him slightly, pulling his quintessence into hers so she could send small waves of understanding and comfort. He gave her a smile that shivered as tears formed in his already swollen eyes.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do Black. I just...I could deal with the grief of losing a child I didn't even get to know, but I can't deal with losing both a child and my mate. She means everything to me. If she died, I don't think I could go on." His hands reached up to rub his face, mussing the fur that stood softly along his cheeks and chin, "I already feel like an entire part of me is missing. Like there's this giant chasm in my chest where something should be to keep me from caving in on myself, and the something that fills that place is just gone. Forever."

The Lion's actual body moved. Her giant head shifted to hover over Zarkon, and her nose gently nuzzled him. The metal was warm, like skin, and there was a beat like a heart deep underneath it.

Zarkon let out a couple of sobs, then he pulled back and muffled them, "Can I come in?"

Black straightened up enough to let her Paladin enter her cockpit. When he didn't urge her to move, she nudged at him questioningly. Zarkon responded back by tugging at her quintessence and throwing himself headlong into it.

It was not very often that Zarkon merged with her outside of forming Voltron. Black knew that it wasn't because he didn't want to bond with her, or because he didn't know-how. She knew it was because he saw no reason to. They each had an understanding of each other.

But right now, Black understood what Zarkon was asking. He wanted to distance himself from the grief that plagued his body and the emptiness in his chest that he'd just been telling her about. He wanted to merge with her so she could chase those emotions away and he could feel normal for a while.

She let him. Let him delve into her, and explore the small wisps of wind that made her quintessence. They sat there for a while, Black sending comforting waved through her as Zarkon floated endlessly in her quintessence, body left far behind in Black's more than capable paws.

She filled it with a bit of her quintessence, just to keep the heart beating and the blood pumping since there was no soul there to prompt it to do that itself.

After a while, Black felt something prodding her body, and she opened her eyes to see what could possibly be bothering her when she was with her Paladin.

It was another Galran. This one was dressed in flowing robes, much like an Altean would wear. Her fur was painted with glittering colors that drew markings across her face and down her arms. Her ears, cat-like in appearance were twitching with nerves as she glanced at the lion in front of her.

"Lady Honerva is calling for Lord Zarkon. She wants to see him. Is it alright if he comes back inside?" She called out with a clear, sturdy voice.

Black retreated inside of herself where she knew Zarkon was lazing about and nudged him. He protested at first, pushing back in protest. She brought him back to his body and woke him. The Black Paladin's eyes opened sluggishly as he sat up and rubbed his shoulders as it ached from the position he had been laying in.

"What?" He called out groggily to Black. She nudged him once again, prodding him to become more aware of the world around him, slowly loosening her grip on his quintessence so it wouldn't jar him and hurt him.

Zarkon sighed and stood up, understanding that Black was telling him his time was up and he was needed elsewhere.

"Thank you." He whispered softly to her, exciting his mouth and letting the Galran Healer lead him away.

It was as he left that Black realized he never initiated a bond again, despite sinking into her quintessence, the bond between them was still a fraying breeze.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Black couldn't read Zarkon's intentions as he talked with his team in front of her, and that worried the lion to no end. Usually, Zarkon was easy to read, to her at least. Because she understood him on a level no one else could. Right now, his mind was a tight vice blocking her view of his thoughts. To add to the injury, Zarkon had also refused to mend the bond between them, having left it severed the night he found out his mate was sick.

The trails of quintessence that connected them were becoming thinner and thinner as more time trailed on. They'd been strengthened when Zarkon had come to her and drowned himself inside her quintessence, but it had been nearly three movements since then.

She could barely feel him anymore, even though he still piloted her. And he hadn't responded to a single one of her nudgings. She tried to communicate with him as she always did, with slight nudges. She'd tried to open a pathway and send her worry to him. He ignored every advance and refused to connect with the sparks. Black had even taken a page of Green's book and tried to form words that she could say to him. If only he would let her.

He didn't. He kept distancing himself from her. She'd heard no word from him in rotations. She'd felt not even a flicker of his quintessence trained on her for even a second. It was like he was mad at her and started to ignore her. That stung so incredibly deep.

The parts of her that could still feel him could feel him changing in ways she wouldn't be able to save him from. He was becoming a victim of himself and his dread. She could only hope that he would turn to her before he completely lost himself.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Team Voltron flew in formation. Red and Green on either side of her. She could feel their conviction, their confidence in the plan, and in their Paladins. Blue and Yellow followed behind her. They were somewhat distant as if they could taste the dissonant tone in the air that fled from Black.

She was so incredibly disappointed.

In herself and in Zarkon.

Zarkon had reached out to her again when he'd finished discussing the plan with his fellow Paladins, but he was still so distant. She could only feel what he wanted her to feel. Only the surface of his emotions, and the ones he showed to the rest of his team. The rest of them were blocked off, locked away from her, and everything else.

The Lion understood his intentions when he boarded her to go on the mission with the limp body of his mate in his arms.

Black could remember the last time she'd seen Honerva. The Altean had been a beauty, praised for it even among her own people. And yet, it had never stopped her from following her dreams of being a scientist.

The last time she had seen this female Altean, she had been as fit as a fiddle. Her skin had a healthy glow that all Alteans had. Her deep lime eyes had been filled with life and excitement as she'd told the rest of the team, and therefore the lions, that she was pregnant with Zarkon's child. A hand was raised to press against her abdomen and her lips pulled tight into the largest grin Black had ever seen.

Zarkon had leaped to his feet, banging his shins on the table he was sitting at in his glee. His soul sang a song of pride and excitement. Black had heard the rest of the team let out whoops and cheers, or a soft, polite congratulations. Black herself had sent her happiness over the bond and into Zarkon to let him know how elated she was that her family was expanding.

Now though, Honerva was only a shadow.

Her skin was ashen gray like she'd collapse into dust if she was so much as breathed on. The clothes she wore dwarfed her body, which was likely just bones. Her beautiful eyes were closed, but Black had no doubt that if she could see them they would be dull caricatures of what they should have been.

No light, no life to them.

Even her long white hair had taken on a stringy appearance and no longer glistened in the dim light of the cockpit. It rested in a ratty nest around Honerva's head.

Zarkon set her down in the back of the cockpit where she could lean against the wall, close enough so he could see her if she called for help, but far enough away she wouldn't be a constant distraction.

Black had tried to tell her Paladin that he was making a mistake. That what he was about to do would change the tide of the world, and not for the better. he was deaf to her calls.

Now, Black could have refused Zarkon the right to piolet her. Their bond had been shattered, only strings connecting them together that would eventually fade in time. He was no longer a Paladin of Voltron. But she couldn't bring herself to deny her former paladins directions. She knew he was hurting. She knew he was willing to try anything to save his mate.

Any Galra would, and he had the power that no other Galra had at the tips of his fingers.

She couldn't deny him this, no matter how much it tore at her.

So they flew on. Only Blue and Yellow in tune with her dissonance from the rest of the pride. Their concern flittered back and forth between them and her as they asked her question and question. They wanted to help their hurting primate and leader, but they didn't know how. Black also knew that their Paladins had taken notice. Lance and Gyrgan were noticeably less active on the comms.

Black was shocked back into reality when Zarkon spoke for the first time since they had started the mission.

"Get ready."

The order was simple and strong. It powered down the bonds of each paladin and lion, setting them on edge as they approached the large quintessence tear. For the first time in a long time, Black felt fear.

This was actually going to happen. And she had done nothing to stop her paladin from his self-destruction. She should turn around before Zarkon made the mistake he was about to make.

Into the quintessence tear, they went. And Chaos greeted them.

Black could only feel _disappointment_ when Zarkon rose from his chair and shuffled almost corpse-like to his mate. She wanted to refuse to open up and let him out, yet she complied. If only it would ease the ache in her paladin's soul, _in her own soul_.

Zarkon's quintessence wavered in the pure energy around him as he lost gravity and floated there. Cries of alarm crackled from the comms from the other paladins, and Black could feel the other lion's shock ripple over her.

The pure black quintessence that made Zarkon's soul was ripped away from him, filtering out and being replaced with pure energy. Black could feel the changes in his body as the lines between the shivered under the strain of pure quintessence. Her paladin curled around the body of his mate as they light around them grew blinding.

Darkness consumed her.

For the first time, Black lost power.


	3. Change

Black came back to the world with a strange buzz around her. It felt wrong and right at the same time.

Something familiar nudged her, urging her to answer, and she lightly pushed back to let it know she would be fully aware soon. That she would answer as soon as she remembered herself.

It turned out that the thing trying to get her attention was Red. Worry flitted in the air around her, tasting of Blue and Green. Weary tiredness fluctuated from where she knew Yellow was resting.

Red was insistent on getting an answer out of Black, nudging once again and causing Black to nip back at her in annoyance.

When the buzz finally faded into the background, Black turned her attention to the world around her. The last thing she remembered was being in the quintessence vein on Dibazaal, watching her paladin convulse in pain as pure quintessence flowed into his body.

Now she was on Altea. The air hummed with energy. Strange bird-like creatures sang their songs as they flew from building to building. Alteans wandered around her, entering and exiting the castle and minding their own lives. The waters of the ocean lapped calmly at the white sandy shore. Yet, there was a tenseness to the air. It tasted of grief and guilt.

She turned to her pride, a question burning in her mind. Blue responded first, sending the image of Yellow towing Black out of the vein as it imploded in on itself. The other lions had managed to finish the mission without Black or Zarkon then. The vein was closed and there would be no more experiments on quintessence.

Worry for her paladin filled Black, and she pushed it into Blue. The younger lion stumbled back on her insistence. Black was soothed by Red, who showed the image of Blue flitting out to grab Zarkon and his mate before fleeing the vein. She relaxed slightly, but Blue pushed at her once again. This time, the memory was from her Paladin.

Lance was standing beside a weeping Alfor who hovered over the body of Zarkon.

Zarkon, who was not breathing, had no quintessence flowing through his body. Who was absolutely still on the flat bet of metal. Next to him was Honerva, who was just as still and empty.

Black reeled back in shock in denial. A deep-seated fear and guilt pooling in her stomach as she reached for anything that resembled her paladin. She searched blindly for the connection that tied them together because _he couldn't be dead._

The buzzing that had greeted her upon awakening came back full force and she examined it in her worry. Peace washed over her when she felt him. That buzzing was the weak, thread-thin strands of black quintessence that connected the two of them. It wobbled under the pressure of keeping the two connected together, wanting to snap. Black didn't let it through, because it was Zarkon and Zarkon was hers.

But, it wasn't Zarkon at the same time. That's why the buzz felt both wrong and right. It was Zarkon, her paladin, but it also wasn't. His quintessence wasn't black anymore. It was a strange purple that grated against Black, making her feel sick and powerful all at once.

She pushed this feeling to the rest of her pride who all reeled back in disgust. Dismay flew from Green, who shoved the feeling back at Black and sank into the comforting green that made her.

Blue fell back, leaning away from her leader as much as she could without moving her body. Yellow let a tinge of fear and uncertainty touch her. Red turned into a whirlwind of confused anger that was slowly sated by something Black could not see.

Black knew this feeling wasn't right. But the elation she felt overrode any logic. Her paladin wasn't dead. She could claim him again, and they would feel whole! She could have her paladin back.

Blue pushed against her, more hesitant this time. She sent images to Black that made the lion physically shake her head as denial burned deep inside her.

It was the image of Zarkon. The Zarkon she knew was her paladin and then the body laid out on the table. They looked so similar but so different. Where his fur was supposed to be was skin like scales. Where his quintessence was supposed to be was empty nothingness, which filled then with the sick purple she felt form him now.

_He isn't Zarkon,_ Blue insisted, _He isn't your paladin._

Black lashed out at Blue, striking deep into what would have been Blue's fur if they'd been real lions. A hissing growl deep in her throat as she reminded Blue who the leader of their pride was. She shook off the feelings the other lion had implanted in her.

It wasn't true. It couldn't be. Because it was her Zarkon. She couldn't lose him.

Everything around her seemed to slow down and speed up all at once. It was a flash freeze feeling as the buzz suddenly got so much louder and so much more present in her head. It slammed down on her all at once, forcing her to submit to its unyielding force.

A building a few feet from her exploded into a cloud of dust and rubble. The purple quintessence that lashed out from it was very reminiscent of the Glaran sky.

Black realized that the buzzing was attached to it. That this power was Zarkon. She realized at that moment that Blue was right. This wasn't her Zarkon anymore.

Yet it was. Because underneath all the buzzing, underneath the cloud of sickly purple quintessence, she could still feel him. Those strands of black energy that connected her to her former paladin wouldn't have held if he was completely gone. They would have crumbled underneath the force of dissonance.

He was still in their somewhere. Drowning under the sickness, under the unnatural quintessence that poisoned him.

He was corrupted by this _sick_ quintessence. This corrupted quintessence. But he was still there. Her Zarkon was in there somewhere, sleeping. He was waiting for her to find him and drag him back.

She would find a way.

She _had_ to find a way.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Black felt that the other paladin's response to this new Zarkon was a bit much. yet she knew she was still in some stage of denial.

They were preparing for war. A war she thought would be unnecessary. She knew that Zarkon was the one who declared it, but she couldn't shake the ever-loyal part of her that wanted to stay by his side. She wanted to claim him as hers again so he would be where he belonged.

She couldn't though, because he was just as deaf to her calls as he'd been when he found out his mate was sick. She knew she couldn't because he was corrupted.

It hurt so much to realize that no one else could see the small sliver of Zarkon that was still in there, buried deep inside the corrupted mass. Only she could feel it.

Since she was the only one who saw this, she stayed neutral. She would not answer the call of Zarkon when he said her name, even when she could hear it. Because she wanted to feel him reach out to her. And she refused anyone else that tried to get her to open up because they weren't her paladin.

She would stay neutral until she could figure out how to save her paladin from his mistake. Which meant that her siblings were forced to stay neutral as well. They were all strong in their own rights, but the power was diminished when even a single paladin or lion was missing from the equation.

So a plan was hatched. Alfor sealed her away in the Castle of Lions behind a door that would only open when each of her pride members was gathered and powered by a paladin. The rest of the lions were sent away at the behest of the king. They were sent to be hidden where the hands of Zarkon couldn't touch them.

Black saddened as each of her pride members cried out when the bond they shared was fractured. When they roared in misery as they were sealed away, her quintessence quivered. Where they let out wails when their paladin finally died at the hands of her own, it fragmented her heart.

Yet still, Black stood regal and unresponsive. She shut her siblings out, blocking them so they could not call her.

For one-thousand deca-phebes, Black sat and waited patiently. She focused on the slowly fading, buzzing bond she had with Zarkon.

She never realized that the bonds that tied her to the rest of her pride evaporated. That even if her sisters or brother were to awaken, she would not feel it until their bonds were restored.

No.

For one-thousand deca-phebes, Black sat in the darken prison she had been sealed in and focused only on her bond with her paladin. Trying her hardest to drag the Zarkon she knew back into the light.

For one-thousand deca-phebes, she waited.


	4. Ten-Thousand Years Later

Black hibernated, holding tight to the fraying strands of her connection with Zarkon for the one-thousand deca-phebes she waited.

And for the first time for as long as she could remember, something flickered at the edge of her sleep-addled, numb mind.

A feeling of something cool and inviting rubbed against her. It left her feeling refreshed, and slightly more awake than she had been for a long time. It was like water pouring over her, urging her to wake, but the urging was not enough.

Shortly after that, something soft but curious tickled lightly at her. It calmly brushed against her flank, letting her know it was there. It let her know that she would be alright.

Then something sturdy, like rock pressed against her from her left side. The feeling of water returned with it full force. These three feelings urged her to open her eyes and wake. To see the world again.

They all felt familiar. They all reminded her of a family she had long since forgotten in the time she spent locked in her dark and silent cage.

It was the last sensation that sent her to wakefulness. This time, it was a hot breath against her face and a gentle nudge of something warm against her muzzle.

Black flew into wakefulness as she recognized the pull of her sisters and brother. Her pride, they had returned to her.

A familiar voice was speaking around her, the gentle lilt reminiscent of Honerva when she would sit at Black's feet with Zarkon on the days that they lazed around Dibazaal. It was different though. Younger, lighter, and filled with anger and despair.

Yes. It was the offspring od Red's first paladin. Her name was Allura, and she was Honerva's niece. Black had never really gotten to know her. She's spent more time with Red and her paladins than any time around Black and Zarkon. Almost everything she'd heard of the small Altean princess was from Zarkon himself.

Why was she filled with such anger? Why did her bluepink quintessence let out a saddened trill and throb with loss?

Suddenly, she understood when another creature stood in front of her. Looking up with uncertain eyes. His quintessence, pure black in color, just like hers. It flickered out to touch her, hesitant.

Black reached out as well, to brush against him. She saw a flicker of his memories. Just the surface of his mind. She felt his suffering and fear. But she also felt his conviction.

The buzz of her bond with Zarkon hummed, reminding her that she already had a paladin. A paladin who was off somewhere slowly destroying what was left of himself.

Black lowered her head to let this man, Shiro, in.

She let him sink slightly into her quintessence as the bond between them formed just enough for her to show him how to piolet her.

Seconds after meeting this new, tentative paladin, she was thrust into battle. Her barely awake mind churned with whiplash and she reached out for Zakon, her paladin, only to remember that it wasn't him who she needed to reach for.

Somehow, despite the discord and barely-there bonds, this new team pulled through. Black was filled with delight. She was proud that this new paladin she'd bonded with, and the rest of the team.

Yet something in her still ached for her old paladin, and it shivered across the worn threads that kept her tied to him.

The reply was faint, barely there. But she felt and, and she also felt hope.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Shiro was very different than Zarkon.

Where Zarkon was all confidence and calm observation, Shiro was uncertain and awkward. Black could feel it when he tried to force authority into his voice.

It wasn't so much that he didn't know how to have control or show his leadership, it was that he didn't know how to word what he wanted. He didn't know himself enough, didn't remember himself enough to know what he wanted to say.

Where Zarkon always kept his collected stone-like mask on unless he felt absolutely comfortable, Shiro tried too hard to hide his quirkiness. It was like he was afraid the rest of the team would reject him when they realized he wasn't all authority and rules.

Black tried to reassure him, but these new paladins, humans, couldn't quite grasp the concept that the lions were sentient and alive. When she reached out to brush against Shiro's quintessence to reassure him, he would jerk away. The shock would ripple through his entire soul before he slowly relaxed back and reached out to her blindly.

It made the connection between them strange. Like the bond was there, but not quite. Sometimes there would be a breakthrough where Black thought she had connected to him, and then they would be thrown back into square one.

The other lions all complained about the same thing. Red said her new paladin was so set in his belief that he just ignored her entirely sometimes.

Then there was Lance. Blue's old paladin. Blue's current paladin. Whenever the team formed Voltron, feeling his bond slide into place so easily was like a breath of fresh air to Black.

Something so normal and familiar, it made of the awkward half-bond with everyone else. He pulled his fellow paladin's closer and forcefully snapped the bonds into place when he needed to. When Voltron was needed. The rest were slowly learning.

Lance was the only reason that Black hadn't completely given up on Shiro yet. He urged her to keep trying, and that one day, there would be a huge breakthrough instead of the snail's pace they were all going at. He believed in these new paladins. He trusted them.

So Black trusted his judgment and never gave up.

She didn't realize how far her bond with Shiro had gone until she was faced with her ultimate decision.

Shiro sat inside her cockpit. A warm presence that had slowly become more confident in his abilities. She'd watched him grow, and urged him to grow. And he'd returned the favor by sitting in her cockpit for hours on end, meditating in an attempt to reach out and hear her.

Zarkon stood outside, holding his signature sword in his hand that fizzled out a weak attempt to return to Black.

He looked so different, so strange to her. The buzz that connected them was weak, even though she was standing right in front of him. She could see no more black quintessence inside of him.

The paladin she'd known, the Zarkon she'd grown with, was no longer there. This thing, this strange creature wearing Zarkon's skin was something else. The buzz that had filled her since his 'death' finally faded into silence. The feeble strands connecting her to this thing snapped as the let go.

Black wasn't sure how long she'd known, or even how long she'd realized that her Zarkon was gone. She'd finally cut tied with this beast and let herself revel in the bond she'd formed with Shiro.

It was strong. So much stronger than she had thought. When she reached out to him, to reassure him that she was his lion and he was her paladin, he responded back. He gently let his quintessence rub along hers. She didn't have to see it to feel him relax, shoulder muscles loosening when she did so.

Her Zarkon had died years ago when she'd let him make a huge mistake. Guilt pulled at her conscience for a second when she realized she was the reason he'd died.

But she reminded herself that she'd admitted to his loss long before she had realized it.

Now though, she had Shiro.

Shiro wasn't her Zarkon. He was different, he was a stranger compared to her first paladin. But he was her Shiro, her paladin.

She wasn't going to let go of this bond as easily as she'd let go of Zarkon. She couldn't. But she knew that Shiro would never willingly break her bond, and he would never force her to follow him down a rabbit hole with no end.

Shiro was hers, and she was Shiro's. They were paladin and lion. They had a true bond.

A bond that would never break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus ends the first short-story Esq story for Bonds Between. Next up, The Red Lion. I'm gonna post the first chapter just a bit later than this one, so if your interested, make sure to stop by my profile


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